Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This past week included a couple of nice wines from the Margaret River, a once-obscure appellation in Western Australia that continues to gain in prominence after a couple of decades of making excellent wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon. I got a nice Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend from Xanadu Wines, a project owned and run by Darren Rathbone, a winemaker and businessman who also owns Yering Station winery in the Yarra Valley. Their Cabernet Sauvignon, a bit farther down in the tasting today, was also worth looking at, especially if you enjoy some of the green notes that can sometimes accompany Aussie Cabernet.

Sticking with white wines a bit longer, I can also recommend two wines from The Terraces, a Napa winery that has looked to the Clarksburg AVA in the Sacramento River delta region to get their hands on some Italian grape varieties, in this case, Cortese and Falanghina, which they’ve made in steel and then aged in mostly neutral oak to let the grape varieties shine. I slightly preferred the Falanghina which gets a day or so of skin contact to add some texture and additional complexity.

Next, I’ve got four excellent Pinot Noirs to recommend from my friends at Ernest Vineyards just above the town of Freestone in Sonoma County. Both their Sonoma Coast bottling, and their Freestone Valley bottlings are excellent and worth finding for their brisk acidity and bright fruit.

Troon Vineyard has been making Tannat for some time, and they continue to refine their approach to the grape, yielding a lovely mix of herbal, mineral, and fruit flavors that have nicely restrained tannins. Like all their wines it is Regenerative Organic Gold certified as well as Demeter biodynamic certified.

Lastly, I’m happy to recommend a wine from tiny Sky Vineyards up on Mount Veeder. A family-run, small operation focused mostly on Zinfandel and Syrah, Sky has also decided to combine the two grapes in a blend they call Half’n, which has a nice brightness to it and a lower alcohol, despite some ripe flavors.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2023 Xanadu “Secession” Classic White Blend, Margaret River, Western Australia
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of cut grass, green bell pepper, and green apple. Crisp green apple, cut grass, and lime zest have a bright juiciness thanks to excellent acidity. Crisp, tart, and lean, with just a hint of the vegetal. A blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon. 12.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $25.

2023 The Terraces Cortese, Clarksburg, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of pear, white flowers, wet chalkboard, and chopped green herbs. Notes of dried herbs, lychee, white flowers, and a hint of pastry cream have a nice brightness thanks to very good acidity. 12.8% alcohol. 147 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $36. click to buy.

2023 The Terraces Falanghina, Clarksburg, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of ripe apples and honey. Ripe golden apples mix with a touch of citrus pith and a lovely honeyed aroma as wet chalkboard minerality leaves a clean stony texture in the mouth. Very good acidity. 12.2% alcohol. 368 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $36. click to buy.

2022 Ernest Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of bright cherry and cranberry fruit shot through with the woody smell of stems. Raspberry and cranberry flavors mix with a hint of cedary spice. Faint tannins hang gauzily in the background but then stiffen slightly over time. Nice stony underbelly to the wine, with hints of green herbs. Excellent acidity. Fermented in steel with 30% whole cluster, and then spends 10 months in 25% new oak. 12.8% alcohol. 1200 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2023 Ernest Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cranberry and cherry fruit with hints of chopped green herbs. Lightly grippy tannins wrap around a core of cherry and raspberry fruit shot through with green herbs and the sawdusty woody note of stems. Excellent acidity and nice silky texture. Fermented in steel with 30% whole cluster, and then spends 10 months in 25% new oak. 12.8% alcohol. 1200 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2021 Ernest Vineyards “Freestone Valley” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of flowers, cherries, and raspberries. Athletic tannins wrap around a core of bright raspberry and cranberry fruit shot through with dried and fresh herbs with a hint of stemmy woodiness. Excellent acidity and a nice stony underbelly. Fermented in steel with 30% whole cluster, and then spends 15 months in 33% new oak. 13.2% alcohol. 650 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $58. click to buy.

2022 Ernest Vineyards “Freestone-Occidental” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of cherry and cranberry fruit with a hint of cedar. Muscular grippy tannins wrap around a core of raspberry, cherry, and cranberry fruit. Hints of dried herbs and earth linger in the finish. The heat of the vintage has left this wine a little burly and muscular. Fermented in steel with 30% whole cluster, and then spends 15 months in 33% new oak. 13.2% alcohol. 400 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $58.

2021 Troon Vineyard Tannat, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of forest floor and black cherries. Faintly saline flavors of black cherry, earth, and cedar mix with dried and fresh herbs. There’s a lovely stony minerality to this wine along with powdery fine-grained tannins that coat the mouth. Excellent acidity. 12% alcohol. Regenerative Organic Gold certified. Demeter Biodynamic certified. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50.

2020 Sky Vineyards “Half’n” Red Blend, Mt. Veeder, Napa, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black figs, black cherries, and blackberries. Blackberry and black cherry flavors are bright with excellent acidity as fleecy tannins coat the mouth. There’s a stony, chalky underbelly to this wine, which combines with the acidity to lend a freshness to the overall sensation on the palate. A blend of 50% Zinfandel and 50% Syrah. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $38.

2020 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of chopped green herbs, cherries, and cedar. Fine-grained tannins coat the mouth as minty cherry and black cherry flavors mix with cola and cedar. Notes of chopped herbs linger in the finish with just a hint of green bell pepper. Fresh and bright, but might be too vegetal for some. 14% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $43. click to buy.